Airsonic vs Amperfy
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Airsonic
Free, web-based media streamer derived from Subsonic
VS
Amperfy
iOS music streaming client for Ampache and Subsonic
| Feature | Airsonic | Amperfy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | Swift |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,045 | ★ 1,678 |
| First released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify, Apple Music |
Why pick each one
Choose Airsonic if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is Airsonic or Amperfy better?
Neither is universally better. Airsonic has the larger community, while Amperfy is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Airsonic and Amperfy free and open-source?
Yes. Airsonic is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Amperfy under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Airsonic and Amperfy with Docker?
Airsonic: yes. Amperfy: check the project docs for container support.